Roof racks are generally deployed upon or secured to the roof of a vehicle, such as and without limitation a typical "sports utility vehicle", and are effective to securely store and retain items, objects, and other cargo which are desired to be transported by the vehicle.
Roof racks typically include several elongated members or rails which may be selectively and removably connected to the vehicle and which cooperatively form a frame or support structure. Particularly, some or all of these members are normally adapted to be fixedly attached or coupled to the roof of the vehicle, and when properly deployed upon the roof and properly connected, are adapted to cooperatively provide a supporting structure upon which cargo, such as skis, bikes, luggage, and other items can be "tied down" or otherwise secured to the roof rack by one or more conventional fastening members.
One of the major drawbacks associated with many of these prior roof rack assemblies is that they are relatively difficult and inconvenient to access, thereby making the process of loading and/or unloading cargo and other items to/from the rack assemblies undesirably time-consuming and difficult. Particularly, in order to secure and/or remove items to/from these prior rack assemblies, a user typically is required to reside in or to achieve an elevated position (e.g., by use of a ladder), since these prior rack assemblies are fixedly coupled to the roof of the vehicle. Moreover, since the secured cargo and/or other items are generally located above a user's head and/or "eye level", it is relatively difficult for a user to ensure that the retained cargo and/or other items are safely and properly secured upon the roof rack.
There is therefore a need for a new and improved roof rack assembly which overcomes many, if not all, of the previously delineated drawbacks of such prior roof rack assemblies.